This report presented findings from the most comprehensive national study of infant formula prices at the retail level. For a given set of wholesale prices, WIC and its infant formula rebate program resulted in modest increases in the supermarket price of infant formula, especially in states with a high percentage of WIC formula-fed infants. However, lower-priced infant formulas were available to non-WIC consumers in most areas of the country, and the number of these lower-priced alternatives was increasing over time.
Government Accountability Office examines the extent that WIC agencies have restricted the use of non-contract standard formula to lower the cost of the WIC Program.
This report focused on the impact of infant formula marketing on breastfeeding rates of WIC and non-WIC women, as well as the Government Accountability Office ;s recommendation to protect against inappropriate infant formula advertisements.
This study examines a range of innovative practices at 20 state or local WIC agencies. The researchers focused on practices in three main areas: breastfeeding promotion and support (including peer counseling and programs for high-risk groups); nutrition and health education (including obesity prevention, preventive healthcare, and staff training); and service delivery (such as home and workplace visits). For each innovative program, the authors provided background information and discussed the source of the innovation, key challenges, implementation lessons learned, evidence of its success, and the feasibility of replicating the practice.
The goals for this study were (1) to identify interventions to increase the incidence, duration, and intensity of breastfeeding among women participating in WIC and (2) to design an evaluation plan to examine the implementation and effectiveness of these interventions.
The number of children at risk of being overweight has grown during the past two decades, as has the number of young children whose families participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Are these increases connected? According to the author, the answer appears to be no. However, being from a low-income family;especially a low-income, Mexican-American family;did raise the probability of a child's risk of being overweight. This brief examines trends in the relationship between WIC participation and weight status, by updating the results of Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs and Obesity: 1976-2002 (USDA/ERS, Economic Research Report No. 48), to include data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
The authors analyzed multiple years of cross-sectional data to understand trends in the relationship between food assistance program participation and body weight. High rates of overweight and obesity among low-income populations in the US had raised questions about whether federal food and nutrition assistance programs contributed to the problem. To examine this possibility, the study investigated (1) the extent to which overweight and obesity had increased over time for food and nutrition assistance recipients (focusing on the Food Stamp Program and WIC) and (2) the degree to which increases might simply have mirrored national trends in overweight and obesity.
As obesity has come to the forefront of public health concerns, there is growing interest in finding ways to guide consumers’ food choices to be more beneficial for their long-term health. About one in five Americans participates in at least one nutrition assistance program sponsored by the USDA. The researchers used behavioral economics, food marketing, and psychology to identify possible options for improving the diets and health of participants in the Food Stamp Program, the WIC Program, and the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.
FNS funded five state agencies through a competitive grant process to participate in Fit WIC. This report described the then-current childhood obesity epidemic, explained the Fit WIC assessment findings, outlined the five Fit WIC obesity prevention programs, and provided recommendations for future action.
This report provided improper payment estimates for undercharges and overcharges in the WIC Program for fiscal year 2010. In fiscal year 2010, WIC improper payments amounted to 1.1% of total WIC food outlays, compared with an improper payment rate of 1.2% in 2009.
